tv_talk | TV Talk Rec Fest: Mysteries or Horror

Various color glass balloons captioned TV Talk Rec Fest

Welcome to day 5 of Rec Fest! Today please recommend shows which could be considered mysteries or horror. While these two formats can be quite different there may also be overlaps at times. Mysteries might include procedurals, detective series, or dramas which center on a mystery which runs for the whole series or on a season by season basis. Horror often includes supernatural events but may also overlap with the suspense genre where dread and fear predominate.

Please include in your recs the following information:

Show Title:
Audience Rating: Young Children/All Ages/Teen and Up/Mature Content
Warnings: (Could include gory content, raunchy situations, explicit sex, offensive content, etc.)
Length of Episodes: (30 minutes/1 hour/Other)
Length of Series: (Number of seasons or number of episodes)
Why you recommend it: (What draws you to it? What niche does it fill/mood is it good for?)

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Feel free to include any other information you’d like, such as what year(s) the show was originally broadcast, standout cast members, or what other shows it may connect to or be like. You can also include outside links to Wikipedia, Fanlore, IMDB, your favorite review etc. which contain more show information.

If someone else has already recced a show you were planning to rec, please include your own rec as well! People have different takes on shows and it can also help people if they see a number of people find a show to be a must-watch.

If you have questions about what to post or how the Rec Fest will run, please ask them at this link, not in comments below

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The French original already looks a lot more charming than the American adaptation.

Yes! I have nothing against the American adaptation, but... in the very first ep already (and that ep is shot by shot identical for the most part), if you watch the interrogation of the rape victim, you can see Mehdi Nebbou react to the statement with, idk, pain and shock, the way he looks away, and then carefully continues questioning her. In the US version, Karadec doesn't bat an eye, and immediately accuses her. I don't know exactly who to blame here, but I think it's a combination of direction and acting. The US version feels bland somehow, and the French version rich.

I made clips for comparison (you have to download to watch):
us clip
french clip

Would you like to tell me more about the romance in HPI (or the things you like about it)?

I decided to answer your question here, in the context of the HPI rec.

Ah... my favorite conversation topic right now! \o/

Let me know if you want spoilers for the later seasons, because that's where it gets complicated. :) I'll start with the first two.

At first, the formula starts out pretty traditional: she's the chaotic single mom, juggling three kids, including one obviously also with a high IQ who constantly has one obsession after another. I loved this, this was very realistic (although I have to admit I almost dropped the show twice in the first season because the kids were too annoying when she took them to work - they luckily tone it down a bit later). So she ignores all the rules, including the ones about safety or correct police procedure.

He's the rigid detective who likes his life orderly and cannot believe he's to be saddled with a dangerous sidekick like that.

She doesn't really change much over the course of the show, but he adapts noticeably. He gets used to her, slowly giving up his attempts to tell her to stay and wait or to wear gloves, for example, but he still shouts at her when she's being especially idiotic and putting everyone in danger. By the second season, you can tell that he's sometimes actively enjoying her exploits, smiling to himself, especially when she exasperates other people with her behavior. Some of his best deadpan lines are in those scenes.

There are two dream sequences where we learn that they've both fallen for each other - his is in the first season, hers much later in the second. But they're very clear. He of course never did anything about it, being in denial about the whole thing - and I admit it is the reasonable reaction, he knows she's a handful. By the point she realizes her attraction to him, they're both in other relationships, too - he gets a girlfriend in s2 and she gets back together with her ex, the father of her two younger children.

But they're both obviously in sync and enjoy working together, and they're both uncomfortable/jealous with the other's relationship. Not in an annoying way, but it's obvious that the writing supports them. It's not fan goggles interpreting subtext, the writers knew exactly what they were doing. This becomes very clear towards the end of season 2, but I would rather not spoil you unless you tell me to.

No, thank you, no spoiling is needed as long as the relationship is developed in a satisfying way. She doesn't sound like somebody you should carelessly jump into a relationship with. If kids are involved, there's always a lot more to consider. Plus, as colleagues, who would risk making a mess out of a perfectly functional business relationship?

Maybe a stupid question: Is the detective's s2 girlfriend treated as some sort of "placeholder" or is the relationship believable and important for the detective's character (development)?

as long as the relationship is developed in a satisfying way

I do think it is, but it's in no way traditional. There can't be an "okay we love each other so we'll get married and live happily ever after" with them, it's more like "okay we love each other despite all the obstacles, so how can we build trust out of this mess", and... it's complicated! They fail a lot!

Is the detective's s2 girlfriend treated as some sort of "placeholder" or is the relationship believable and important for the detective's character (development)?

She's not treated as a placeholder. I for one would have been happy if the writers had decided to let Morgane and Karadec continue on as work colleagues, and I'd just have done the shipping in my head as usual. :)

Although I wouldn't say there is character development through his relationship, per se, because his girlfriend just fits with him without any need for change. They have lots of things in common, and they're obviously happy with each other. It's a perfectly functional relationship, ...if the show hadn't gone and pointed out the elephant in the room.

Watsonianly speaking, that would all have been totally fine, and everyone would have had happy lives, but Doylishly speaking that's not quite as interesting, so both Morgane and Karadec rather tend to sabotage themselves instead. Mehdi Nebbou likes to say about Karadec that he keeps trying to exert control over his life but keeps failing. And that is very interesting to watch. (Painful, too.) I feel like that is something the writers enjoy, and having him live in a stable relationship doesn't fit that goal.

Thank you for your insightful replies! Makes me more curious about the show. :)

Another question: In the version you watched, did the subtitles provide a translation of things written in French? Unfortunately, the ARD Mediathek subtitles leave it out. I'm now wondering if I should simply download the episodes from there and look for better subtitles.

I noticed that too, that's very annoying. They have all the HOH stuff, which i really don't need, but not the writing. :/

I downloaded all the subs from here:
https://www.opensubtitles.org/en/ssearch/sublanguageid-fre,eng,ger/idmovie-1027691
and one of the English ones has the writing, too (I don't remember which one it was from that list, sorry). Some of those have slightly different timing than the Mediathek ones, though, it takes a little fiddling.

I just tried if substital works with the Mediathek... and yup, it does work. (But I would recommend dlding them anyway, it's extremely fast.)

I found some other subtitles but some parts seemed to be machine-translated. :/ Thanks for the link! Those subtitles are much better.

Btw: I can't wait for S1E06 if the episode title is related to some of the things you already told me. :DD

You're welcome. <3

Btw: I can't wait for S1E06 if the episode title is related to some of the things you already told me. :DD

I just had to go check the Mediathek for the German title, because I gave all my files the French titles (and it's very different for that ep). But, yes, the German title gets it right. :D (Although it's also one of the two eps in s1 where she takes a kid to work, so... that part's definitely not my fave. But the dream-related scenes are great.)

I'm glad you're starting to watch it, feel free to talk to me about it anytime! (Are you on discord? I'll send you a DM if so. Easier to squee about shows.)

I rarely use Discord but feel free to add me: I'm saarebasra. Currently watching the first episode.

cool, i sent you a friend request. now off to lunch. :)

TV Talk Rec Fest: Mysteries or Horror

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